https://drafts.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/10/10/children-of-the-empire/

Some neat stuff here. 234 cards (three copies each of 76 cards and one copy each of six cards).

No Mantis shown.

A little annoyed.

I like most of what I'm seeing so far. Wish we were getting Mantis box instead but I'll take what I can get, and an extra 76 cards for the pool is certainly a good thing

So first big box expansion for L5R.

Patience CW. They only spoiled 6 cards............the remaining 70 could be a perfect 35 / 35 split between Mantis and Shadowlands.

Quote

Akodo Toturi is just one of the many neutral cards featured in Children of the Empire . Look for Duelists , Courtiers , Magistrates , and even the Son of Heaven himself to join the Imperial ranks.

Oh snap!

6 minutes ago, Ishi Tonu said:

So first big box expansion for L5R.

Patience CW. They only spoiled 6 cards............the remaining 70 could be a perfect 35 / 35 split between Mantis and Shadowlands.

Actually they spoiled 9 so your math is already out the window. I've resigned myself to mo Mantis/Shadowlands big box for a while.

I will be curious what the 6 1 of's will be. I wonder if its a set of Dark Rings and an Imperial Stronghold?

Looks like my dream of an Imperial deck just took one big step closer to existing.

So a product which doesn't adress any of the major issues of the game (length, balance and accessibility to new players).

It fleshes out two mechanics which are non existent with only one core set and therefore is not a perfect companion to it.

The only upsides are playable collection of cards inside and spot on lore/theme/flavor implementation of story elements.

I was hoping for a Mantis box myself but unfortunately this more or less means there won't be one in the future, unless they introduce a new faction with a severe card deficit to the other factions. It could be still possible, given rotations and all that good stuff in the future. However, unlikely for a year or two until that rotation is introduced.

Also, Student of War...but at 3 costs and 3/2 stats, that's probably a Teacher of War.

9 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

Actually they spoiled 9 so your math is already out the window. I've resigned myself to mo Mantis/Shadowlands big box for a while.

And there are 82 cards, counting the 6 with a single copy (which are certainly a mix of strongholds, roles and provinces).

6 minutes ago, Hordeoverseer said:

I was hoping for a Mantis box myself but unfortunately this more or less means there won't be one in the future, unless they introduce a new faction with a severe card deficit to the other factions. It could be still possible, given rotations and all that good stuff in the future. However, unlikely for a year or two until that rotation is introduced.

Also, Student of War...but at 3 costs and 3/2 stats, that's probably a Teacher of War.

For the Lion even the greatest sensei must recognize they will always be a student. For to stop learning is to abandon all hope of victory.

9 minutes ago, Dovla said:

So a product which doesn't adress any of the major issues of the game (length, balance and accessibility to new players).

It fleshes out two mechanics which are non existent with only one core set and therefore is not a perfect companion to it.

The only upsides are playable collection of cards inside and spot on lore/theme/flavor implementation of story elements.

There's nothing that can address the length of the game without reworking a majority of the cards. The length of the game allows for strategies to show themselves even if you have a bad (not horrible) start/pull. Reducing the number of broken provinces needed to get to the stronghold would allow Unicorn/Lion to hit the Stronghold round 1. It would also upset the balance of honor for Honor/Dishonor end conditions.

2 minutes ago, Khudzlin said:

And there are 82 cards, counting the 6 with a single copy (which are certainly a mix of strongholds, roles and provinces).

I'm not sure provinces will be one offs unless they are clan specific (which I hope they don't do as it unbalances the number of options). Strongholds yes, Role cards maybe (but what Role do you go with unless you are making a support of the Mantis/Shadowlands/Imperial that maybe allows you to ignore clan restrictions for the correctly keyworded cards, and maybe ignore or reduce honor loss from Shadowlands cards).

Maybe we'll see an unbalance element card so anyone can choose that particular element but you loose the Keeper and Seeker benefits to solve the element locked card issue.

My immediate thoughts:

- Artwork on Subdue The Spirits is awesome, as is In Defense Of Rokugan. These are two of my favorite scenes from the fiction so far, so I like this!

- Imperial Toturi? Woot! One piece closer to having my Imperial deck!

- Mirumoto Daisho - Sorry, 2 Fate for a +2 / +2 Attachment with some dueling meta? Not worth running more than 1 copy in a deck, and that's ONLY if I am running Agasha Shunsen. Especially considering how easily it can be used against you by anyone splashing Scorpion.

- Courtly Challenger - So... hooray for bully dueling? Like, seriously, this card's text is basically "Draw 2 cards and Honor this character." Duels automatically let you pick your target, so. Yeah. If this guy Dishonored for winning a duel, or your opponent got to choose their opponent, this would be mildly more interactive. Right now, it is not interactive at all.

- Honest Challenger - So, THIS is what dueling should be. Do I want to win, and bring in my big guy? Do I want to lose, and MAKE you overcommit to this conflict? Do I want to play the odds and maybe get some more Military skill and Honor? There is a lot of granularity and stakes with this duel, and this creates the sort of interactivity that this game needs.

- Student of War - I guess you just hate listening to Akodo Kage, don't you?

- Social Puppeteer - Okay, I like you. I shouldn't like you, but I do. I really, really do. You just create so many wacky hijinks using Maze of Illusion, turning on a bunch of weird Scorpion cards which will otherwise never see play. You up the jank of this game in a confusing, beautiful way. Shine on, you crazy diamond. Shine on.

- Stay Your Hand - I would expect to see one or two copies in all decks for about six months after this expansion hits due only to the meta game against Crane and Dragon, but unless we get more killing duels in neutral format, destined to live in binders. It's a free Event, so that is nice, but unless Duels become a dominant meta of the game, packing the cancel in your deck and hand competes with an already tight Conflict deck.

5 minutes ago, sndwurks said:

- Stay Your Hand - I would expect to see one or two copies in all decks for about six months after this expansion hits due only to the meta game against Crane and Dragon, but unless we get more killing duels in neutral format, destined to live in binders. It's a free Event, so that is nice, but unless Duels become a dominant meta of the game, packing the cancel in your deck and hand competes with an already tight Conflict deck.

As long as Dragon are playing Rags this will have value.

34 minutes ago, Dovla said:

So a product which doesn't adress any of the major issues of the game (length, balance and accessibility to new players).

It fleshes out two mechanics which are non existent with only one core set and therefore is not a perfect companion to it.

The only upsides are playable collection of cards inside and spot on lore/theme/flavor implementation of story elements.

If the set consisted of only the cards spoiled then you might be accurate, but, since there are plenty more cards to come, wouldn't it be more reasonable to wait and pass judgment on the product after you see the whole thing?

“Look for cards that represent some of the biggest moments from Legend of the Five Rings fiction”

Yay! This is what L5R is about! Well, at least in part. I’m already loving Subdue the Spirits.

Also, I like the new Composure mechanic. That should change the “always bid 5” meta a little bit.

23 minutes ago, Schmoozies said:

I'm not sure provinces will be one offs unless they are clan specific (which I hope they don't do as it unbalances the number of options).

I don't see why not, since a playset is 1 copy for provinces (neutral or clan-specific). And it's much easier to move a province between decks than a dynasty or conflict card.

I don't know why people expected Mantis. It is too early foe them to get great clan status. They are still a few years away. And there won't be a shadowlands faction.

Just now, Radix2309 said:

I don't know why people expected Mantis. It is too early foe them to get great clan status. They are still a few years away. And there won't be a shadowlands faction.

Unfortunately, there are some people out there who won't play the game until either those factions are represented.

4 minutes ago, Radix2309 said:

I don't know why people expected Mantis. It is too early foe them to get great clan status. They are still a few years away. And there won't be a shadowlands faction.

It's not an expectation. It is a hope.

Because we really love our weird little Clan and we'd like to fully play it in the new game. Sadly, there are a group of players out there that want us to leave the game entirely.

And no one said anything about being a Great Clan yet....

9 minutes ago, Radix2309 said:

I don't know why people expected Mantis. It is too early foe them to get great clan status. They are still a few years away. And there won't be a shadowlands faction. 

Because there were rumors of it from the same site where other rumors were posted that turned out to be true, among other reasons.

1 hour ago, Dovla said:

So a product which doesn't adress any of the major issues of the game (length, balance and accessibility to new players).

It fleshes out two mechanics which are non existent with only one core set and therefore is not a perfect companion to it.

The only upsides are playable collection of cards inside and spot on lore/theme/flavor implementation of story elements.

Length is only a problem to some, that depends if you like long or short games. Balance might be being adressed, we dont know. Unicorn had a balance issue and the last cycle did address that. Duels has isues and this pack seems to be adressing with the rewording and the inclussion of composure and cards like the daisho, and the fact the team has acknowledge the mecahnic isnt working as intended and was being revised. Accesibility to new players is an issue, but I dont know if an expansion pavk is the best way to address that. Maybe starter decks or soemthing... bit thats another matter.